I really can't blame anyone for hating metal when they get their exposure from headbanger's ball. Understand that true metalheads don't call most of that shit metal. Most of it's there just to sell an image. Most real metal is way underground. You really have to look around to find the good stuff since it's an extreme artform that most people can't appreciate. Chances are that the mall won't carry any good metal except for bay thrash (basically just metallica and megadeth, and even there you have to know what you're looking for.) Instead of giving you a rundown of all the awesome metal bands out there, I'll give you some reasons to be intrigued.

1.True metal is based around a philosophy that one should take action to remake the world as one sees fit. The best example the the phenomenon of black metal. At its beginnings, it was not so much a music genre as an underground social movement, that centered around several bands in Norway such as Mayhem and Burzum. The satanic imagery was used not so much as a litteral reference to Satan as a symbol of the counteraction to Christian culture. The goal of these bands was litterally to rid Norway of Christianity and return it to its pagan roots. People connected with the band did indeed burn churches, but it was not for shock value, it was what they believed in.

2.Much true metal is more technically involved than any other music except for classical and real jazz. Obviously the drums and guitars and very fast, but also death metal is strenuous for the left hand because of the number of diffent notes being played and the unusual orders they come in. Black metal is very layered and harmonic and requires a good understanding of scales and modes. Usually the keyboard parts are very complex. The drumming is also complex, and not just fast, especially with math metal, which is often very syncopated and some bands such as Meshuggah use polymetrics to create an extrordinarily disjointed sound which is difficult for almost anyone to follow. Also the melodic singing is more demanding than most types of music, and even the growling vocals and more difficult to do convincingly than you might imagine.

3.There is more diversity in metal than most genres, everything from the soaring symphonic arrangements of bands like Nightwish and Sonata Arctica to sheer noise and aggression to the barely controlled chaos of the Dillinger Escape Plan to the folk awesomeness of Finntroll and everything in between.

In short, true metal is not about pretense like most of the modrock and fashioncore popular today. Yes, there are some shitty metal bands out there, but if you can find the ones that are there because they believe in themselves and have real talent, you may really start to appreciate them.

A form of Hard Rock that began with Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Purple Haze in the late 1960s and early 70s. Metal is considered the Biggest of the three main forms of Hard Rock, followed by Punk then Grunge. Heavy Metal is composed of big, aggresive sounds produced primarily by electric guitars, bass guitars, and drums. THe vocals are generally very guttural (hoarse and deep voice sounds) or high pithced and shrieking. Metal has almost countless sub-genres including, but not limited to, Hair/Glam Metal, Speed Metal, Thrash, Classic Metal, Nu Metal, Gothic Metal, Black MEtal, Folk Metal, Progressive, and many more.

Not all metal is aggressive, not all metal is fast, not all metal is about killing, not all metal is about Satan, and ALL metal is talented sophisticated music (save for the bands that just suck).

Metal has to be split up into multiple sub-genres because of how diverse it is.

Heavy Metal - generally refers to late 70s/early 80s bands that have their sound rooted in hard rock. Can also describe bands that don't really fit into any other sub-genre. Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden are the big 3 bands of heavy metal, but earlier hard rock bands like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple are sometimes called heavy metal.

Speed Metal - a type of heavy metal that is faster and can have influences of punk in their rhythms. Not many bands are exclusively referred to as speed metal, because speed metal is hardly distinguishable from thrash metal. Motorhead and Venom, two British bands, are sometimes regarded as definitive of the style.

Thrash Metal - this happened after the New Wave of British Heavy Metal when American bands started to combine it with elements of hardcore punk (there are many other genres to combine punk with metal as well). Bands in this genre play fast riffs with a lot of palm muting and the guitars are often tuned to standard E or standard E flat; many of these guitarists are trained musicians and guitar solos are prevalent. Vocalists can sing (generally in a virtuoso style) shout, or in some cases, growl, generally dealing with lyrical content about war, violence, society, etc. The "big 4" of thrash are Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth, and Anthrax, with other popular American bands being Overkill, Exodus, and Testament.

Power Metal - like thrash metal, it is a derivative of speed metal, though power metal rarely has as much aggression as thrash metal. Power metal makes use of fast tempos, operatic vocals, neo-classical guitar solos, keyboards, and has an "epic" feel with lyrics usually dealing with fantasy subjects. Dragonforce is a popular power metal band, but they are dishonest, and not as original as Sonata Arctica, Manowar, or Helloween.

Death Metal - a derivative of thrash metal that started when bands began experimenting with growled vocals, and more violent playing. Bands who play this style are dismissed by the mainstream as being "talentless" or "just noise", but anyone who studies music will tell you that most death metal is in fact quite musical and very challenging. Lyrics, more often than not, deal with death and gore, but some bands even sing about philosophy, politics, or abstract material. Possessed and Death are credited as being some of the originators, as well as lesser known bands like Master. Though these bands were more rooted in thrash, Morbid Angel came along and really made the genre what it is. Sub-styles of death metal are brutal death metal, which focuses on further extreme and technical playing, technical death metal, which focuses almost purely on playing with as much skill and proficiency as possible (many of them are uncreative), and melodic death metal, which originated in Sweden and focuses on harmonized minor-key melodies.

Black Metal - another derivative of thrash, which has since broken away from it, that usually employs fast playing, and rasped and/or screamed vocals. Many bands make use of lo-fi recording, and melody is often a strong musical focus. The style of vocals used in black metal contains a lot of emotion, and creates the effect that the performer is experiencing strong pain or sorrow, though many vocalists just want to sound evil. Lyrics primarily deal with the occult and Satan, though like all metal, can cover a wide variety of topics. Venom is seen as a key influence on the genre due to the aesthetic, and similarity to first-wave artists such as Bathory. Mayhem became the leaders of the second-wave Norwegian scene.

Doom Metal - inspired largely by the early work of Black Sabbath, and is characterized by slower tempos, chugging guitar riffs, and clean vocals with an "epic" feel. Pentagram and Trouble are seen as key innovators of the style. Doom metal has diversified into death/doom, which contains the growled vocals of death metal and focuses on melody and melancholy, giving rise to gothic metal, and funeral doom metal, which like death/doom usually employs growled vocals and generally uses very slow tempos, repetitive and hypnotic song structures, and ultimate heaviness; Katatonia is an example of death/doom and Shape of Despair is an example of funeral doom.

Folk Metal - mixes black metal or power metal with traditional folk music (usually European folk music). It is often ridiculed for being cheesy, but once you get into it, it's some of the catchiest most fun metal to listen to. Often referred to as viking metal. Ensiferum, Finntroll, Borknagar, Wintersun, and Korpiklaani are all examples of folk metal.

Progressive or Avant-garde Metal - bands in this genre focus on unconventional song structures, and elements that are uncommon in metal or even in rock. Dream Theater is one of the biggest prog metal bands.

Sludge Metal - fuses elements of doom metal and hardcore punk. Recent metal trends have shown that these bands have started to experiment with post-rock and progressive metal in their sound. Acid Bath, Isis, and Mastodon are all examples of sludge metal.

Metalcore - another punk fusion genre, that mixes the modern American hardcore scene, usually with melodic death metal. Some bands focus too much on modern hardcore and are deemed not metal by serious metalheads. Trivium, As I Lay Dying, All That Remains, and Shadows Fall are generally regarded as mostly metal, though bands like Atreyu and Avenged Sevenfold are not. Deathcore is an offshoot of this genre where bands incorporated brutal or technical death metal into their sound, and have been very poorly received by critics and metalheads alike.

Nu metal is NOT a sub-genre of metal, due to having more in common with alternative rock, grunge, or even hip-hop than metal.

Heavy metal is my favorite kind of music, and there are always new twists and turns with unique bands waiting for me to discover.

It speaks for it'self..
The only place some faceless punk could ever say anything about metal is on a web site like this.

Metal has proven it'self and stands the test of time.
Unlike.
punk
emo
rap
etc..
Metal is in your heart.
To those who don't understand.... You never will..
And WE don't care..
Metal doesn't need you.
So go dis on punk or emo rap whatever.
WE will always be here.
We could care less what you listen to or how perfect you like your cords.
Wow I just made myself laugh...

Dude metal rocks.
Yes Corrosion of conformity is the baddest band of all time.
What about people who dis Heavy Metal though?
They are probably dising all the new shit that by some accident got called metal.
Anyway they just don't understand and never will so FUCK THEM....

"Can you sing at all?" Yes. Listen to journeyman. listen to silent lucidity

"Can you not be such goth fucktards?"
Jeans and leather aren't goth

"Can you focus more on music and maybe write some non-retarded lyrics and maybe get someone who can actually sing to sing them?" Pop music is the one that normally has shitty lyrics. Steve harris has a history major, and he writes songs pertaining his knowledge

"Can you make it a little more normal and a little less like goth vampire shit?"
The classic metal clothing is jeans and a t-shirt, or leather. or anything with a "i don't care what you think of me attitude"

"Can you make it a little more closer to rock & roll?" We could, but don't want to

"Can you go five seconds without mentioning Satan?" Hallowed be thy Name, For the Greater Good of God, etc. there's plenty

"^And why the fuck do you do that anyways in the first place?" Shock value

"Do you even know the difference between something that sounds like shit and noise and mud vs. something that actually sounds good?" Silent Lucidity is amazing. Listen to it and tell me i'm wrong. (And It's Queensryche, so it's metal)